Gulf Coast Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

It was tough on the way out due to the big waves. Very difficult to see where you are going so I mostly sighted off other people. I was sighting off the buildings on the way in, but picked the wrong one at 1st but the kayak guy set me straight. Once I figured out the right building to sight from, it became easy to sight on the way in. The swim was a lot of fun - much more fun than swimming in the merky lakes around GA.

Try to sight better on the way out.

KInda messed this one up getting socks and shoes on and getting the whole thing going. I forgot to unstrap the velcro on my bike shoes so it flustered me a little getting them open. I messed up a couple other items, but cant remember exactly what - it certainly took too much time putting on socks, shoes, sunblock, extra aquaphor in shorts etc. I also forgot to put some of my snacks in the back of my jersey. Figured I would get in T2 (which I forgot again).

Practice T1 more. Should have been able to do this is 2 minutes. Want to learn a flying start so I dont have to run so far in my bike shoes.

Kicked butt on this one. For this 1st time ever, I did not push too hard on the bike. I made sure I kept my cadence high especially on this hills. I managed the teeny hills well by using easy gears and high cadence. This was a planned change and I think it worked. No burning in legs at all and the ride felt very comfortable and I still was going at a pretty good speed. Kept my heart rate just below LT the whole time. I drank about 7 bottles of water and consumed about 1200 calories and 10 Salt Stiks which worked out nicely.

May try keeping heart rate even lower by a few beats in 1/2 IM's in the future especially in hot conditions.

Pretty quick, but not great. Most of the excess time was spent piling on sunblock. I took my feet out of my shoes a tad early since I wasnt clear where the dismount line was. When I got to the line and got off my bike, I had to stop a little

Learn to keep moving while getting off bike.

I did poorly on the run again. This time it was not because of a poorly managed bike which was nice. I kept my HR below LT on the bike and rode smooth with high cadence. When I got off the bike and out of T2, I felt great. It took almost no time to find my running legs. I figured I was going to nail it this time. I had 6:45 for the 1st mile and right at 7 for the next couple. Then, the heat started to slow me down. By the time I got to halfway, I was running at over 8 minute pace and doing everything I could to cool off. The heat just sucked the life out of me. With about 4 miles to go, I got a cramp in my side that slowed me even more. I was able to work that out after about a mile, but I was struggling like crazy. The run was a little disappointing.

Force myself to start out slower on the run even if I feel great. That may have cost me. Figure out how to get better in the heat. I trained a little bit before doing this race, but clearly I could not handle the heat.

Walk around a bunch to loosen up. Drank tons of water and powerade right away. Ate pizza, drank beer, had oranges etc etc. The went to the ATC tent and ate sandwiches snacks and drank beer and did a beer bong.


Not sure. Probably went to hard at the beginning of the run and the heat got me. The race was very flat so I expected a much better run, but I hit the Swim and bike leg spot on.


This is by far the best Triathlon I have done to date. They had great volunteers. It was extremely well organized. They had 5 aide stations on the bike. The pancake breakfast was great, the pasta dinner was great and the party after was awesome.

The fact that the hotel is right by transition and swim start just cant be beat. Not having to wait in long lines at the porta potties is really cool.